Washington

Climate Change: A Medical and Moral Imperative

WPSR member Dr. Howard Frumkin, Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, teamed up with Father Stephen V. Sundborg, President of Seattle University, to highlight the growing diversity of voices calling for climate change solutions. "Rarely have religion and health science come together so seamlessly to underscore for all that the science of climate change is clear and the need to steward the natural world is both a divine and a public-health opportunity and duty for all."

Oil-by-Rail a "Rolling Environmental Injustice"

"Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals say noise and air pollution from the trains can increase heart attacks and other serious diseases; a moment’s delay in emergency services due to a passing train can mean the difference between life and death for critical patients; and the possibility of derailments poses significant health risks for people near train tracks."

Two physicians in the Skagit Valley area, who signed our Position Statement on Crude Oil Transport & Storage, share their concerns.

Health Professionals Call for Denial of Oil-by-Rail Terminal Permits in OR and WA

Nearly 300 doctors, nurses and other health professionals today called on Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Oregon Governor Kate Brown to deny permits for proposed new and expanded oil-by-rail facilities. The position statement based on peer-reviewed medical literature examines a broad range of public health and safety risks including air and water pollution, oil spills and clean-up, delayed emergency response, and storage tank fires and explosions. The statement to the Governors has been signed by over 300 health professionals.

Sign Today: No to Crude Oil Transport & Storage in WA

Oil transport by rail and sea poses grave health risk in the form of tanker explosions, spills, water and air pollution, and contribution to climate change induced disaster and disease. WPSR’s Climate Change Task Force has developed a position statement, in partnership with our colleagues in Oregon, opposing the transport by rail, storage, and shipment by vessel of crude oil within our states. The position statement, which carefully outlines the major risks backed up by credible evidence from the medical literature, will be submitted to the Governors of WA and OR. If you are a health professional concerned about the dangers of handling oil in our region, please read the research and add your name today.

Urge the Army Corps to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to assess the potential human health and environmental consequences of shipping 360,000 barrels of oil each day down the Columbia River.